1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for the treatment of conditions such as Dyslexia.
2. Background of the Invention
Dyslexia is a general term for a reading disorder which affects the ability to read. Developmental Dyslexia relates to a dyslexic condition from birth. Acquired Dyslexia relates to a dyslexic condition due to brain damage (accident, brain hemorrhage; other). Circa 80% of the developmental dyslexic community may be grouped in the sub-category of those suffering Phonological Processing Disorder. Compared to their peers, individuals with Phonological Processing Disorder are less able or unable to phonologically decode words (to ‘sound out’ words). The present invention is developed for the treatment of developmental students suffering Phonological Processing Disorder.
In the late 1800's scientists in England (Dr. W. Pringle Morgan), and Germany (Dr. Adolf Kussmaul) first formally diagnosed and labelled the condition. It was labelled “word-blind”. Over the next Century, the quest to understand the underlaying causes has covered all four relevant fields of science: Ophthalmology; Neurology; Cognitive sciences; Educational psychology; Behavioral Sciences.
Research aimed at producing computer models that resemble the functioning of the human brain when reading written text, has resulted in consensus on the existance in the human reading system of two separate procedures for reading: in other words, the existance of two main routes—dual routes—that bring a reader from print to speech. These so-called Dual route models demonstrate the existance of a lexical (dictionary) route, and a non-lexical route aimed at coupling phonemes (the small distinct sound units in a given language, such as /k/ in ‘cat’) to the initial orthography (letter shapes) and graphemes (smallest units relating to specific phonemes, such as ‘ph’ relates to /f/). This body of scientific research evidences that impairment of the non-lexical (grapheme-to-phoneme) route results in symptoms identical to those of individuals suffering a phonological processing disorder. Australian Prof. Max Coltheart has been a leading scholar in this research (Coltheart, M., Rastle, K., Perry, C., Langdon, R., & Ziegler, J. (2001). DRC: A dual route cascaded model of visual word recognition and reading aloud. Psychological Review, 108, 204-256. doi: 10.1037/0033-295X.108.1.204).
More recently, breathtaking scientific research in the field of Neurology has made it possible to accurately map those areas in the brain that are involved in reading. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) it has been established that
the Broca's area, Inferior Frontal Gyrus, is responsible for a relatively slow process of articulation and word analysis. The Parieto-temporal area is also responsible for word analysis: it is believed to analyse a word, pull it apart, and link its orthography (letters) to sounds. The third area, Occipito-temporal area, is the express pathway to reading open to the skilled reader. This Occipito-temporal area reacts almost instantly to the whole word as a pattern—identifying the word by sight. There are therefore three neural pathways for reading: Two slower, analytical ones, that are used mainly by beginning reades, and an express route, the Occipito-temporal, relied on by experienced, skilled readers.
Dyslexic readers show a fault in the system: Underactivation of neural pathways in the back of the brain. Consequently, they have initial trouble analyzing words and transforming letters into sounds. (Shaywitz, Sally. Overcoming Dyslexia: A New and Complete Science-Based Program for Reading Problems at Any Level. 1st. New York: Vintage Books, 2003. 75-92. Print.).
How is Dyslexia Treated.
A review of Prior Art demonstrates a predominance of four different treatment approaches in treating Dyslexia. The following paragraphs briefly discuss the governing principles behind these approaches, and do so from the perspective of the needs of developmental dyslexics suffering Phonological Processing Disorder.
Sight-Reading Treatment Approach.
Examples of Printed materials-based Dyslexia treatments.
NamePublisherReviewReadingKEYReadingKEYhttp://readingkey.com/Key Words ReadingLadybird Bookshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Key_Words_Reading_Scheme
These are approaches which—at the core—relay on sight reading of whole words. These approaches ask the student to commit to memory individual whole words. They either present lists of words (common English words) or work with readers based on gradually expanding sight reading vocabulary. ReadingKEY is an example of a method based on lists of words. The disadvantage of this approach is that the student is presented with hundreds upon hundreds of words which the student is asked to memorize. It takes a long time before the students knows enough words to be able to read a text. And even when a text is presented, a certain number of words will not yet be present in the student's whole word memory bank, making it impossible for the student with Phonological Processing Disorder to decode and sound out the word.
And example of an approach deploying readers based on gradually expanding sight reading vocabulary is the well-known series of readers of “Peter and Jane” by Ladybird Books. Because the child does not know any words yet, the books start with infantile language. “Here is Peter”, “Peter is here”, “Here is Jane”, “Jane is here”, “I like Peter”, “I like Jane”. Additional words are introduced gradually, page by page, to expand the reader's reading vocabulary. For a 4 or 5 year old, learning to read, this approach is quite acceptable. But for a 9 year old who has dropped behind school due to struggles in learning how to read, this approach is embarassing. Dyslexia is unrelated to intelligence. Many dyslexics demonstrate above average skills in cognitive abilities. They have learned to cope with their inability to read. Their verbal intelligence and verbal vocabulary is typically not lacking behind their peers at all. To ask an already frustrated and embarrased 9 year old to read Baby language will not generate the motivation required to overcome Dyslexia. The reader topic and concepts being far below the verbal intelligence levels of the typical 7 to 9 year old dyslexic child.
Grammar and Phonics Treatment Approach.
These are intervention approaches primarily aimed at enhancing awareness of and ability in decoding any or all of the components comprising written language: letters, spelling, phonology, and morphology.
Example of a USA Patent.
U.S. Pat. No.Issue DatePatenteeRelevant Pages5,451,163Sep. 19, 1995BlackAbstract; p5. col 2:50f.
Examples of USA Patent Applications.
U.S. Pat. No.Filing DateInventorRelevant Pages 9,794,430Feb. 27, 2001BartonAbstract10,444,809May 22, 2003CytanovichAbstract10,528,321Sep. 15, 2003GuffantiAbstract; p24. [0004]
Examples of Printed materials-based Dyslexia treatments.
NamePublisherReviewLindamood-BellLindamood-Bellhttp://www.lindamoodbell.com/programs/index.AspxReading MasteryMcGrawHill SRAhttp://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/sra.html
Though proponents of this treatment approach argue that training dyslexics in phonics is essential, the neurological reality of students with significant (i.e. profound) levels of Phonological Processing Disorder makes it untenable. Such students simply lack the neurological hardware to process phonics instruction.
Multi-Sensory (Touch, See, Handle, Associate) Treatment Approach.
These treatment methods deploy the use of physical objects or computer games aimed at increasing multi-sensory (touch, see, handle, associate) learning. These treatment methods typically—and intrinsically—focus on developing student orthographic (letter-shape) and phonemic awareness.
Examples of USA Patents.
U.S. Pat. No.Issue DatePatenteeRelevant Pages4,045,884Sep. 06, 1977ZandAbstract; p3. col 2:5f.4,090,311May 23, 1978LyonsAbstract4,123,853Nov. 07, 1978DickensheetAbstract4,323,349Apr. 06, 1982MaltzmanAbstract4,643,679Feb. 17, 1987TatumAbstract5,114,346May 19, 1992FioramontiAbstract5,277,586Jan. 11, 1994BranchAbstract5,328,373Jul. 12, 1994WoodSummary p8. col 4:35f.5,690,493Nov. 25, 1997McAlearAbstract5,795,163Aug. 18, 1998AliotoAbstract5,951,298Sep. 14, 1999WerzbergerAbstract; p20. col 14:30f.
Example of a USA Patent Application.
U.S. Pat. No.Filing DateInventorRelevant Pages10,789,654Feb. 27, 2004Allenp17. [0010]
Example of a Computer-based Dyslexia treatment.
NamePublisherReviewSoundReadingSound Readinghttp://www.soundreading.comSolutions
Though multi-sensory approaches offer the advantage that more parts of the brain are active in the treatment, they remain ineffective for students with suffering Phonological Processing Disorder.
Medical Intervention Treatment Approach.
The medical intervention approach aims at overcoming physical realities, such as pertaining to neurology or optometry.
Examples of USA Patents.
U.S. Pat. No.Issue DatePatenteeRelevant Pages3,906,644Sep. 23, 1975LevinsonAbstract4,379,699Apr. 12, 1983NelsonAbstract4,979,902Dec. 25, 1990Alix MorelleAbstract6,213,956Apr. 10, 2001LawtonAbstract6,324,511Nov. 27, 2001KiralyAbstract6,382,791May 7, 2002StrawdermanAbstract6,443,572Sep. 03, 2002LawsonAbstract
Example of a USA Patent Application.
U.S. Pat. No.Filing DateInventorRelevant Pages10,621,334Jul. 18, 2003Watkinsp5. [0013], [0016]
Examples of Computer-based Dyslexia treatments.
NamePublisherReviewFast ForWordGemmLearninghttp://www.gemmlearning.com/Dyslexia_help.phpDybusterDybuster AGhttp://www.dybuster.com/int/learning-system/supervised-learning-by-playing/
Prior to the aforementioned breakthroughs in neurology these methods primarily focussed on addressing the opthalmological aspects of certain forms of Dyslexia, with its causes in the anatomy, physiology and diseases of the eye, and its brain processing centers. An example of this is the invention of Levinson et all. (USPTO U.S. Pat. No. 3,906,644, Issued Sep. 23, 1975), which aims to present presentation of reading material in letter or word-sized units, one at a time, to induce static visual scanning and processing of the read matter. Normal reading requires sequential scanning (letters and words from left to right, in sequence), which is difficult for some dyslexics.
Since the aforementioned breakthroughs in neurology, new revolutionary methods have been developed. These methods seek to address the challenge of Dyslexia at its root-cause level: Missing hardware (neural paths) in and between those three primary regions of the brain used in reading. An excellent example hereof is Fast ForWord of Gemm Learning (http://www.gemmlearning.com/Dyslexia_help.php).
Though fascinating, medical intervention treatment methods fall outside the scope of the present invention.
Other Treatment Approaches.
Other treatment approaches remain which can not clearly be placed in either one of the four previously discussed treatment method categories.
Examples of USA Patents.
U.S. Pat. No.Issue DatePatenteeRelevant Pages5,366,377Nov. 22, 1994MillerSummary p3.col 2:38f.6,075,968Jun. 13, 2000MorrisAbstract; p15.col 4:50f.6,506,057Jan. 14, 2003BenitezAbstract6,632,094Oct. 14, 2003FalconAbstract
Example of USA Patent Application.
U.S. Pat. No.Filing DateInventorRelevant Pages11,642,600Dec. 21, 2006KullokAbstract
Examples of Computer-based Dyslexia treatment methods.
NamePublisherReview***Overview ofn/ahttp://www.dyslexic.com/different readingitems.asp?Cc=READsoftwares
The Challenge in any Dyslexia Treatment.
Irrespective of the treatment approach and method(s) selected, overcoming Dyslexia for an individual with Phonological Processing Disorder is hard work. There is no quick fix. The two most important factors in successfully Dyslexia treatment are (a) early diagnosis of the condition, and (b) persistent treatment.
Students with significant (i.e. profound) levels of Phonological Processing Disorder are particularly difficult to treat. They simply lack neurological hardware to process phonics instruction. Many such a student has been suffering under several consecutive phonics-based approaches to no avail. Leaving them deeply disillusioned, convinced of the fact they can never learn to read. Many suffer loss of self-esteem or are held responsible (in part or whole) for their failure: being charged with lack of motivation or dedication. The present invention is of particular value to this significant population in our Elementary and High Schools, as it addresses their dyslexic needs in a means at par with their verbal intelligence and cognitive abilities and rapidly restores the student's hope that reading can be mastered. The National Assessment of Educational Progress reported that 44 percent of 4th grade boys and girls were not yet fluent readers. These are shocking data given the fact that children are expected to develop into fluent readers by the end of 2nd grade (Shaywitz, Sally. Overcoming Dyslexia: A New and Complete Science-Based Program for Reading Problems at Any Level. 1st. Ed. New York: Vintage Books, 2003. 231. Print.). This is the reality which the present invention addresses.